At Borussia Dortmund, the smile is back after three dark days. The 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Champions League initially dispelled concerns that the disgrace from the league summit against Bayern could have lasting effects for a long time. An astonishing reaction followed the bitter 4-0 defeat on Saturday.
“I’m very pleased that we didn’t fall into a hole and ruin a lot of things this season due to a bad phase,” said goalscorer Julian Brandt, who was voted “Man of the Match”, full of hope for a similarly mature performance from Borussia The next Bundesliga show of strength is on Saturday against our neighbors VfB Stuttgart, who have the same points in the table.
With a mixture of relief and pride, coach Edin Terzic commented on the jump to the top of the table in what was probably the toughest group in this year’s competition: “We sent a lot of people home disappointed on Saturday. Today we knew that we couldn’t make up for everything, but one be able to give a little something back.” The “honest” approach to the defeat at the summit had an effect: “It was clear to us that the spark had to come from the pitch to the stands – and not the other way around.”
BVB leaders ahead of PSG
Sebastian Kehl also seemed to have been relieved of heavy burdens. “That was the right answer. You can see what this team can achieve – even in this group,” enthused the sports director. He saw the 2-0 win as confirmation of his assessment after the Bayern game that “everything wasn’t in ruins” at BVB: “I think some of the criticism we had to take on Saturday has to be taken today revise. With two wins against Newcastle we made a really good statement.” The fact that these were the only two defeats in the last 13 competitive games for the sixth-place team in the Premier League further enhances Dortmund’s performance.
After a weak start to the group phase against Paris (0:2) and AC Milan (0:0), BVB gained a promising starting position in the fight for the title thanks to Niclas Füllkrug’s first Champions League goal and a counterattack goal from Brandt Advance to the round of 16. Since Paris (6 points) lost 1-2 in Milan (5) a few hours later, BVB (7) even took over the lead in the table. “Considering that many people had already written us off after two games, things are looking pretty good now,” said Brandt.
Kehl: “We now have it in our own hands”
With a win in Milan on November 28th, entry into the knockout round would be perfect. Otherwise, the decision will be made in the group final two weeks later at home against Paris. The fact that the gap between the four places in the table is only one point speaks for the balance between the teams. “This group is crazy, it’s wild – and it’s not over yet,” warned Brandt. Nevertheless, sports director Kehl is in good spirits that the fourth-place team in the Bundesliga will spend the winter in the premier class: “We now have it in our own hands and don’t want to let it be taken away from us.”
It will be seen in Stuttgart whether the 4-0 loss against Bayern was really just a one-off blackout and whether the fourth-place team can get back on track in the Bundesliga. National player Brandt sounded more confident than last weekend: “If we play the game on Saturday at VfB, we’ll still be in a good position everywhere – even if Leverkusen are already a long way away with seven points.”
